Nine-Tails’ Aftermath III

The Nine-Tails’ Rampage and the Fourth Hokage’s death dealt no small blow to peace in the Ninja World.

When Orochimaru and Hyuga Mirai defected from Konoha, Konoha’s high-end combat power had indeed been greatly reduced. But the Yellow Flash, Jiraiya, and others were still around. As long as the other Four Great Ninja Villages had no way to deal with the Yellow Flash, they would not easily start a war—otherwise, they would end up like Iwagakure.

But once news of the Nine-Tails’ Rampage spread, the other major ninja villages saw hope.

Nearly every civilian had witnessed the Nine-Tails attacking Konoha. Many Konoha ninja had been killed or injured, and even the Fourth Hokage had fallen. Though they had not managed to learn the Nine-Tails’ whereabouts, a little thought made the situation clear: a Tailed Beast rampage generally meant the Jinchuriki had died. And if even the Fourth Hokage had perished, Konoha’s Jinchuriki had most likely been replaced.

Kumogakure

After learning this intelligence, Fourth Raikage A pondered for a while, then snorted and said, "So Namikaze Minato is dead. Looks like the Nine-Tails made Konoha suffer quite a loss. Mabui, have there been any changes to Konoha’s border deployments?"

"The moment news of the Nine-Tails’ rampage spread, Konoha increased the number of troops at its borders by twenty percent. It seems they are deeply wary of us, Lord Raikage."

Mabui spoke calmly. As the Raikage’s secretary, her most important duty was to curb A’s impulsive actions and ideas at critical moments—such as now.

Fourth Raikage A shouted, "Those Konoha bastards think adding twenty percent more ninja means they can stand against us? Mabui, call B over. This time, we will take from Konoha the benefits we failed to seize last time!"

Being driven back by Orochimaru and forced to sign a ceasefire agreement was something A found deeply humiliating. He had eagerly led his forces to reap benefits from an exhausted Konoha after the war, only to be struck head-on by Orochimaru. After losing quite a few Kumogakure ninja, he had signed a ceasefire agreement with Konoha.

Now that Namikaze Minato was dead and Orochimaru had defected, that ceasefire agreement could be torn up.

"Lord Raikage, now is not a good opportunity to deploy troops."

Rather than obeying the Fourth Raikage’s order, Mabui calmly told him, "If we go to war with Konoha now, they will most likely retaliate with everything they have. Furthermore, we have not obtained concrete information regarding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. My recommendation is to probe them gradually. It would be best not to send Lord B to the battlefield."

Fourth Raikage A slammed his palm onto the table. Cracks instantly spread across the sturdy solid-wood desk.

"Mabui, do you think I would lose to Konoha?!"

"I am merely taking Konoha’s reaction and Iwagakure’s movements into consideration, Lord Raikage."

Mabui gave the desk a calm glance before continuing, "The cost of replacing the desk will be charged to your account. I hope you will refrain from slamming the desk in the future."

A choked on his words. Though he dearly wanted to immediately gain something from Konoha, the thought of the scheming Iwagakure ninja made him take a step back. He then said in a low voice, "We’ll do as you say, Mabui. But this time, we must reclaim twice what we lost last time."

Mabui nodded. "Of course, Lord Raikage. Konoha is probably the one that least wants a war right now."

In an era of peace, the sudden death of a village’s Kage—especially the Yellow Flash—was an immensely significant matter. Konoha instantly became the center of the Ninja World, and many ninja villages dispatched spies to Konoha to gather intelligence.

Hokage Tower

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know how many Jonin Meetings he had convened before he barely managed to settle the village’s affairs. He had also, in his capacity as the Third Hokage, once again taken hold of the Hokage’s authority.

This was accomplished quite smoothly. Namikaze Minato had been in office for less than two years, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had handled many matters to begin with. Once the Fourth Hokage died, Sarutobi Hiruzen directly took control of all Anbu again, leaving Danzo completely powerless to do anything about it.

However, what had happened to Namikaze Minato and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would still draw the covetous eyes of other ninja villages. Although Sarutobi Hiruzen strengthened the border defenses, that alone could not stop wave after wave of spies from entering Konoha to investigate.

After giving it some thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, then told them of his plan.

"I plan to spread the news that the Nine-Tails has been taken away. At the same time, I will raise Hyuga Mirai’s bounty to seven hundred million, drawing the Ninja World’s attention to Hyuga Mirai."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and slowly said, "That way, the other ninja villages will become interested in Hyuga Mirai and the other half of the Nine-Tails, buying Konoha time to recover its strength."

After hearing this, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura nodded in considerable agreement. Then Utatane Koharu said, "This method seems feasible, but Hiruzen, what if the Nine-Tails really has been taken away—"

Knock! Knock!

Danzo tapped his cane against the floor twice before sternly saying, "Absolutely not, Hiruzen. I have no objection to raising the bounty, but we absolutely cannot reveal that the Nine-Tails has been taken away."

Danzo then glanced at Utatane Koharu and continued, "Root has gathered intelligence that Kumogakure’s border forces are showing signs of limited mobilization. The Fourth Raikage does not dare launch a full-scale war only because he lacks information on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If you reveal that the Nine-Tails has been taken away, Kumogakure and Iwagakure may both be unable to resist going to war with Konoha."

Danzo’s words startled Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others. That was indeed a possibility.

The Fourth Hokage had just died in the Nine-Tails’ rampage. If the other ninja villages learned that the Nine-Tails was no longer in Konoha, they would certainly be unable to resist tearing off a piece of Konoha. The peace that had lasted only a short while would likely erupt into war again.

"Hiruzen, you are too soft in handling matters. We absolutely cannot yield this time. Leave this matter to Root."

Danzo stepped forward half a pace, his imposing presence pressing down on the room.

Mitokado Homura immediately added, "Hiruzen, Danzo is right this time. Leave the matters in the shadows to Root. You still have the Hokage’s responsibilities to bear."

Since Utatane Koharu had misspoken earlier, she did not speak up in support of Sarutobi Hiruzen this time.

"…All right."

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only take a step back and agree to Danzo’s request.

"Danzo, I will leave the Rogue ninja and the Nine-Tails taken outside to you. I hope Root will not disappoint me."

"Hmph. Root has never disappointed anyone when it comes to protecting Konoha."

After saying that, Danzo left the Hokage Tower.

He also had methods to deal with the Nine-Tails. The two Wood Release ninja under his command had gradually matured. As long as he acquired concrete intelligence, he would dispatch the Root squad specifically prepared to capture the Nine-Tails.

It was a shame Uzumaki Naruto could not be handed over to him. Otherwise, Naruto would have been his most powerful subordinate.

Danzo had still not given up on Uzumaki Naruto. A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who had only recently been born was the most valuable to cultivate. Moreover, Uzumaki Naruto possessed the Uzumaki bloodline and was the best candidate to seal the Nine-Tails.

Wait for now. The time is not yet right. In a while, the plan will begin. Nine-Tails…

Danzo glanced in the direction of Konoha Hospital, then headed straight for Root’s base.

After Hyuga Mirai and Uzumaki Ayaka left Konoha, they hurried toward the Capital of the Land of Fire.

Their speed was not particularly fast, because the Nine-Tails within Uzumaki Ayaka still resisted from time to time. Since Uzumaki Ayaka wanted to completely subdue the Nine-Tails, she had not placed a dual seal on herself. With only a Four Symbols Seal, she could not completely seal away the Nine-Tails Chakra.

Even with only half of it, the Nine-Tails’ chakra far surpassed the Three-Tails’. In Uzumaki Ayaka’s perception, the Nine-Tails possessed the greatest amount of chakra. Even Hyuga Mirai’s chakra was less than a quarter of the Nine-Tails’.

Uzumaki Ayaka lowered her head and said, "Sorry, Lord Mirai. I held you up for so long and disappointed you."

"You don’t need to apologize. You were able to use a Six Tails Tailed Beast Cloak without losing your mind right after sealing the Nine-Tails. You’ve already done well enough."

Hyuga Mirai smiled lightly as he comforted Uzumaki Ayaka. Six Tails was probably Uzumaki Ayaka’s current limit. Any more, and the Nine-Tails Chakra would invade her consciousness.

"This is only your first time taking the Nine-Tails Chakra, so you’re still unfamiliar with it. I believe that within two years, you’ll be able to completely master Nine-Tails Mode."

In truth, half of the Nine-Tails was already Hyuga Mirai’s expected goal. He possessed an enormous amount of Dragon Vein Energy and could completely create the other half based on the Nine-Tails he already had.

Besides, barring any surprises, the other half of the Nine-Tails in Konoha would sooner or later come obediently to find him.

"Lord Mirai…" Uzumaki Ayaka called out hesitantly, then found herself unable to say anything further.

One look at Uzumaki Ayaka’s expression was enough for Hyuga Mirai to know what she was thinking.

"You want to ask about Uzumaki Kushina?"

"Yes, Lord Mirai. Since you saved Kushina, why didn’t you take her away?"

Hyuga Mirai shook his head. "There was no need. Taking half of the Nine-Tails away was Konoha’s bottom line, while my bottom line was that the other half of the Nine-Tails could not remain under Konoha’s control. That was why I had to save Uzumaki Kushina. By the way, Ayaka, who do you think Kushina should hate the most?"

"Hate who… us?" Uzumaki Ayaka said with a slight frown. If that were the case, she truly regretted saving Kushina. She should have ignored whether she lived or died.

"The one she should hate most is Uchiha Obito, but that target is too vague. To her, he isn’t a concrete target. So after that comes me, and the so-called responsibility of the Hokage."

"Uzumaki Kushina’s dream might once have been to become Hokage, but after she gave birth, her heart held only her family and child. That is a woman’s nature, not something a dream can change. Therefore, everything that destroyed her family is an object of Uzumaki Kushina’s resentment. When she was on the verge of death, she certainly wouldn’t have thought so much about it. But I extended her life. With enough time, Uzumaki Kushina can think things through properly."

"Who exactly caused her family to end up like this? Was it me? Not really. Without me, Namikaze Minato would still have died, and I even saved her. Even if she regarded me as a target of her hatred, she would only fall into a moral dilemma."

Hyuga Mirai spoke calmly as they traveled. Uzumaki Kushina was insignificant, but if used well, she could still tear Konoha apart.

"If Uzumaki Kushina’s hatred is compared to a river blocked off completely, then what I did was equivalent to carving out a tributary for her. That tributary is this: whoever makes a move against Uzumaki Naruto, Kushina’s hatred will flow toward that person."

"So, leaving her in Konoha is her greatest use."

Killing people was simple, but Hyuga Mirai preferred destroying their hearts.

First update.

Sorry, I worked overtime until ten-thirty. There’ll be another update shortly!